Gautam Adani to file affidavit in US federal court this week

Billionaire Gautam Adani is expected to file a sworn affidavit in a US federal court this week. The affidavit will state whether he is aware of any promise, agreement or benefit linked to the US government's decision to dismiss a criminal indictment against him. This follows a judge's order requiring the filing before ruling on the Justice Department's request to drop the case.

US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis directed Adani to submit the affidavit by July 15. The judge asked him to confirm if he is aware of any promise, offer, agreement or benefit connected to the dismissal, or of any exchange made in return for the charges being dropped. Sources said the affidavit is likely to be filed this week. The Adani Group declined to comment, saying the matter is sub judice.

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The order comes after a June filing by R Trent McCotter, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General at the US Department of Justice. McCotter said he was the "final and sole decision-maker" behind the move to dismiss the indictment with prejudice. He rejected media reports suggesting the decision was linked to the Adani Group's plans to invest about $10 billion in the US.

McCotter wrote that claims of dismissal due to investment promises were false. He added that he would have sought dismissal regardless of any mention of investments. He said the securities fraud case was legally indefensible because most alleged conduct occurred in India, Indian authorities had investigated and found no actionable misconduct, investors suffered no losses, key evidence and witnesses were outside the US, and the defendants were unlikely to appear before a US court.

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He also said the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charges no longer aligned with the Trump administration's enforcement priorities, which focus on cases involving US national security, American companies or transnational criminal organisations. McCotter described the decision to seek dismissal as not a close call and said the charges should have been dismissed a year ago.

Judge Garaufis noted that McCotter's filing introduced for the first time the possibility that some form of agreement involving one or more defendants may have existed in connection with the dismissal, despite no such arrangement being disclosed to the court. The judge said Adani's lawyers had previously explained why the defendants consented to the government's motion to dismiss but made no reference to any agreement, including one involving a commitment to invest in the US.

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Before approving the request under Rule 48(a), the court said it must be satisfied that the Justice Department's stated reasons are genuine and that no undisclosed agreement influenced its decision. The Justice Department had moved to dismiss charges filed in 2024 under the Biden administration. The charges accused Adani and seven others of participating in a scheme to pay about $50 million in bribes to Indian officials to secure power supply contracts and of misleading investors while raising capital from US markets. Adani has denied the allegations.